Monthly Archives: August 2012

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LANDIKOTAL: A bomb went off in a women’s shopping store in KhugaKhel area of Landikotal on Monday. However, no casualty was reported in the blast, local sources said. Some unidentified militants had already warned the owners of the general store not to sell women items like clothes, shoes, bangles and other products. They warned them to close their business. Majority of the locals were of the view that the women general store has facilitated the local women to purchase items of their choice. It would be worth mentioning that the stores for women in Landikotal are also run by women. After an explosion in a mobile shop, people said that it was an alarming situation and the area might once again become a hub of militants to sabotage the peaceful environment. sudhir ahmad afridihttp://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=20128\23\story_23-8-2012_pg7_7

Yes Wikipedia again shows its great first stage of research :: What interested me today about Abul Ala Maududi was/is that Mr. Maududi went to USA for health – why not Europe ? Why SAUDI KINGS and Abul Ala Maududi go and DEPEND on USA and get CIA spies with knowledge of their health ? Anyway below is Wikipedia entry about Abul Ala Maududi and at end see Ayub stopping any good work by Jamaat. Army just want Mullahs as servants of zero Army ideology. Ten year dictatorships !! Anyway Abul Ala Maududi is REALLY TOP contribution by PAKISTAN to Sunny Islam. Sadly Bangla people could see future of Pakistan ……… below is wiki entry. Very good entry about Abul Ala Maududi.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abul_Ala_Maududi

Also see Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi – Tafhim al-Qur’an – The Meaning of the Qur’an <<< THE GREAT ISLAMIC SUNNI WORK WORLD is EVER SEEN – Yes Done by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi ::http://www.englishtafsir.com/

1) Approximately 4.2 million Hindus are living in Pakistan, making it the largestminority in the country.

A tale of migrating Hindus* Patriotic Hindus, who had refused to migrate to India and remained in Pakistan after the partition in 1947, are compelled to leave the country because of feudalism, class system, religious discrimination, forced conversion and marriages and poor law and order situation in Pakistan
By Kashif Hussain
LAHORE: Patriotic Hindus, who had refused to migrate to India and remained in Pakistan after the partition in 1947, are compelled to leave the country because of feudalism, class system, religious discrimination, forced conversion and marriages and poor law and order situation in Pakistan.
The minority feels society has become more insecure for their young girls and it is also scared after court’s decision in Rinkal Kumari’s conversion case.
A special report prepared by Daily Times revealed that around 7,000 to 10,000 Pakistani Hindus (around 1,600 families) had left the country in the last two years.
Of them, around 450 families, comprising more than 3,000 members, have migrated to India in the last four months following conversion cases of one after another Hindu girl in Sindh.
Approximately 4.2 million Hindus are living in Pakistan, making it the largest minority in the country.
According to the data collected from independent sources of Hindu community and civil society organisations, around 3.2 million Hindus are living in Sindh, around seven million are settled in Punjab, 30,000 to 50,000 are living in Balochistan and others are settled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern areas of the country.
What is major reason for exodus? Talking to Daily Times, Hindus from interior Sindh, southern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan said that lower class Hindu communities settled in different provinces were facing the same depression and problems as faced by lower class Muslim citizens. But, they added, all of these people were more patriot than upper, ruling class who were not only exploiting national resources and exchequer but also involved in money laundering.
They observed that a large majority of Hindus in Pakistan are not financially stable and belong to the working class or have poor agricultural background, particularly in interior Sindh and southern Punjab where feudalism is much stronger than other parts of the country.
In the past, whenever Hindus faced lawlessness, threat or any other problem from feudal lords, clerics, extremists, dacoits and other criminals, courts gave them relief. They said courts were their last hope but this door was closed for them after the Rinkal Kumari case. “So there is now no option for us but to leave our beloved country where no one is protecting us and our girls from forced conversion,” they said.
Interior Sindh situation: Hindu community members from Sindh told Daily Times that they had been facing several problems such as forced labour, unpaid or low-paid working conditions, kidnappings for ransom, abductions and rapes of girls, forced conversions, restrictions on religion and robberies in the last 65 years but the situation had worsened after the start of war on terror.
Resultantly, Hindu families have started migrating to India for their safety.
Initially, one or two Hindu families would silently migrate to India during a month, crossing the border illegally from Khokhrapar or other border areas of Sindh.
“But due to sharp increase in incidents of kidnapping for ransom of rich Hindu traders, their family members and abductions and rapes of poor Hindu girls in the last three years, more Hindus have started leaving the country,” they said.
They said that the major reason for the recent exodus was Rinkal Kumari’s case in which the court, which was their “last hope of justice”, “did not provide relief to Hindu victims”, stirring a sense of insecurity among the minority.
They said a sense of insecurity among Hindus increased after some extremists from another religion started a street campaign and made announcements using loudspeakers in different areas of interior Sindh to “choose and pick” Hindu girls for their forceful conversion. “The court’s decision in Rinkal Kumari’s case has given such a courage to these extremists,” Hindus said.
“Due to such hate campaigns which are backed by feudal-cum-parliamentarians, more than 450 Hindu families have already left the country using both legal and illegal ways of border crossing into India. They have migrated after selling their properties and other assets at low prices,” they said, adding that 60 to 90 families were migrating to India each month.
Migrations from other provinces: Hindus living in central and southern Punjab areas said that they had seen some Hindu families migrating to other places some time ago, but no such exodus had happened in the last two to three months.
They, however, confirmed that Hindu families from southern Punjab were gradually leaving their native cities or villages after facing suppression and insecurity from the Muslim society. Some elements of society, backed by feudal, are involved in criminal activities such as land-grabbing, torture of Hindu males or abuse of Hindu women.
A Hindu citizen from southern Punjab, who sent his family to India three years ago, said that he was a well-to-do trader and was kidnapped for ransom by some anti-state elements in 2009. He said that his family members, especially women, were also under threat and there was no option left for him but to send them to another country to save their lives and honour.
But he was still optimistic and coined the idea of calling his family back from India once the law and order situation gets better in Pakistan. He was committed to continuing his struggle for a better life in his beloved country.
A Hindu from Balochistan told Daily Times that although he had no exact figure about Hindu population in the province, he was sure that the number would be in five digits. He said that after the unrest started in the province during the military regime of Pervez Musharraf, several Hindu families left the province for other provinces or even India.
Hindus living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that due to the war on terror and existence of hardliner Taliban in western parts of the province, they were afraid of being killed. That is why, they added, Hindu families had left their homes or were still moving. They, however, said that most of the Hindus were still living in the province and they had never tried to leave the country.
He said that only Hindus in western border areas of Pakistan had moved to other places.
Role of law enforcement agencies in addressing Hindus’ grievances: Pakistan has a strong ‘police culture’ and mostly laws were established by British rulers before the partition. These laws accommodated tactics of suppression, oppression, crushing, inhibition, quelling, beating and usage of third-degree torture against lower classes to avoid any revolutionary act or a demand for rights from them. Unfortunately, the same system is in practice in the 21st century in Pakistan.
The police culture continues to harm minorities and they claim that they have never got relief from police in the past.
They said that on one hand they were victimised by feudal or criminal elements and on the other, police and other law enforcement agencies did not give them protection but join hands with oppressors of Hindus.
Members of the Hindu community said that police in all four provinces were consisting of Muslims in a good majority along with some Christians or a few Sikh people, but no Hindu had been inducted in police force in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa or even in Punjab where more than 700,000 Hindus are living.
They said that no Hindu had been included in Sindh Police and few Hindu men were inducted in security forces in Tharparkar where Hindus are living in a huge number in villages.
Hindu traders said that they were in good numbers in different areas of Sindh such as Kandhkot, Badin, Galarchi, Umerkot, Mithi, Gharo, Thatta, Tharparkar, Jacobabad, Daharki, Hyderabad, Sukkur and Kashmore “but unfortunately our businesses are insecure as some policemen are allied with robbers and other criminals and they loot us”.
Hindus are also living in big numbers in nine districts in Punjab – Rahim Yar Khan, Sadiqabad, Multan, Sialkot, Narowal, Mandi Bahauddin, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Attock. But they also face the same problems as by Hindus in Sindh. “Hindus face similar problems in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” they added.
The Hindu traders said that people from other religions, especially majority community, usually borrowed loans on interest and made business deals with them in interior Sindh. “But instead of fulfilling their commitment, they dodge us to avoid paying back the money and start levelling allegations on us. They call us traitors, blasphemers or Indian agents and pressurise us in cooperation with police who always support them,” Hindu traders said.
“On the other hand, some policemen, linked to extortion mafias, also inform extortionists about the presence of a rich Hindu trader so that they kidnap him for a ransom.”
They said that these were basic issues which had forced Hindus to leave Pakistan. They said they wanted to stay in their homeland provided the situation normalises in their favour. They said that other law enforcement agencies working in the interior Sindh or other areas where Hindus were living in big numbers had also not protected them from criminals.

India’s dealing with migrated Pakistani Hindus:

Do Pakistani Hindus, who have migrated to India in recent years particularly in the last four to five months, have a bright future and is there any possibility that Indians will accept them as a citizen? When the question was raised by Daily Times before members of the Hindu community, they said that some of the families, which had crossed the border into India in an informal way, had told them that Indians did not accept these Pakistanis and consider them “spy” of Pakistan. “Pakistani Hindus are not able to move freely in different parts of India,” they added.
Sources said that the Hindus, who had gone to India, had told their community that Indians were not happy and considered the Hindu exodus from Pakistan a “new game of Pakistan”. On the other hand, Pakistani authorities are also considering this phenomenon as “some kind of conspiracy against its government”, and resultantly Hindus have been grinded between two sides of the border and find themselves helpless.
About laws regarding migration, they said that usually Hindus, who use a legal way of going to India, obtain a 30-days travelling or pilgrimage visa and there are less chances of getting it extend until a convincing reason such as death of a relative in India or personal illness is given.
They also said that some of Hindu families, which had migrated to India from Pakistan several years ago, had yet not been granted Indian citizenship and they were still passing a hard life there as their movement had been restricted in that country.
Solution to the problem: Although the Pakistani government, political parties and human rights organisations have shown serious concerns over the issue of minorities migrating from Pakistan, unfortunately no concrete step has been taken to address grievances of Hindus living in the country.

2 ) Next polls be held under army, says Musharraf

DUBAI: Former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf has asked the chief election commissioner to conduct next general elections in the supervision of the armed forces.
Addressing an iftar dinner from Catholic Club to Dubai via video link, Musharraf said that fair and transparent general elections would bring change in the country. He said he would announce his coming back to Pakistan prior to the next general elections. Musharraf termed terrorism a curse and stressed that this menace should be shackled. He said sectarianism was destroying the country. He said he had no knowledge about who was involved in the Karachi unrest. online

3 ) 3.5 million non-native Lahoris leave city

By Shabbir Sarwar
LAHORE: At least 3.5 million non-native Lahoris such as students, politicians, businessmen, workers and government employees had already left the city for their homes to celebrate Eid with their families while remaining left late night on Sunday, giving the second largest business and residential hub of the country a deserted look during Eid days.
According to careful estimates, around 3.5 million outsiders live in the city for business, educational and other purposes. Out of them, nearly three million had already left the city to enjoy Eid festivity at their native places, while another 0.5 million left the provincial metropolis late on Sunday.
A lot rush of people, which is normally seen on city roads, business centres, educational institutions and hostels, was now seen at railways stations, general bus stands and airports.
According to the national census of 1998, Lahore’s population was 6,318,745 and estimate for 2010 was 8,592,000, which makes the provincial metropolis the second largest city of the country after Karachi. Lahore is also the 30th largest city of the world.
The city has become the second home place for around 3.5 million non-native Lahoris, who leave the city on Eid and other such occasions.
Out of them, around 60 percent live in rented houses, 30 percent in hostels and around 10 percent have purchased their own houses in Lahore.

Australians lead in fitting solar panels on homes

Environment Editor

AUSTRALIANS put more household solar panel systems on their roofs than anyone else in the world last year, new data from the Clean Energy Regulator and the International Energy Agency show.

The statistic astonished many in the solar industry, given Australia’s small population compared with renewable energy market leaders such as European Union countries, China, Japan and the United States. About 392,500 new household solar systems were switched on last year.

Australia still generates far less solar electricity than those countries, but the nation’s preference for small, individual panels mounted on detached, owner-occupied suburban homes means a greater number of systems were actually installed.

”It took me by surprise that we were first, because Germany and Italy are so big,” said Ric Brazzale, the president of the REC Agents Association, a body representing traders and creators of renewable energy certificates.

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”Australian support for solar has had a lot of support at the residential level, and all political parties in the country have supported residential solar. Elsewhere in the world, most policy is geared towards much larger-scale commercial projects.”

Altogether, 785 megawatts of solar power was installed in Australia last year, virtually all in the form of small-scale panel systems on homes and businesses.

This meant Australia just scraped in ahead of Japan and Germany, which deployed about 759 megawatts of small-scale solar power – although that represents only about 10 per cent of total German solar production. Similarly, in other big solar nations such as the US and China, government incentives emphasise big solar power plants, and only a small proportion of renewable energy comes from household rooftop panels.

The end of generous state feed-in tariffs, such as the NSW Solar Bonus Scheme, had created a late rush to get panels on roofs, said Nigel Morris, the director of market analyst Solar Business Services. Mr Morris analysed the data, which was then scrutinised by others in the industry and found to be accurate, after cross-referencing with International Energy Agency figures for last year.

”In terms of total megawatts, Japan and Germany still beat us,” he said. ”In Australia you have a combination of factors, but especially the renewable energy certificate system that’s optimised for [rooftop solar] systems of 1.5 kilowatts. Our market is designed to favour small systems.”

Based on an average household size of 2.5 people, nearly 4 million Australians now live in a house or work in a business with solar panels on its roof.

The amount of electricity generated by rooftop panels has increased almost tenfold between 2009 and 2011, and continues to grow despite rebates and tariffs being wound back.

Altogether, renewable energy made up about 7 per cent of Australia’s total electricity generation last year. Much of that came from hydroelectricity in the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the federal government’s most recent Energy in Australia report shows.

MIRZA JAMAL’s COMMENTS ::I am always thinking of PAKISTAN. Also I think Pakistan needs FREE ELECTRICITY like we in Australia Sydney ALREADY do by THOUSANDS. Pak Government should authorise electrician FIRMS to learn, KEEP STANDARDS, and install solar panels on Lahore and Karachi etc ROOF TOPS. Presently NO PAKISTANI knows HOW or WHAT this can be done ! Again MY SHOW that RUINED EDUCATION SYSTEM of TECHNICAL SCHOOLS has produced low and third class ELECTRICIANS who are USELESS without extra training so electricians can INSTAL PROPERLY FREE Solar SYSTEM. Its NOT mistry or CAR mechanic learning ! Its new TECHNOLOGY and again shows even WHEN LPG came to Pakistan ZIA ul HAQ’s GOVERNMENT totally ignore car LPG Technology as long as he the GENERAL lived LPG was nothing in Pakistan. Remember motorcycle Crash Helmet FRAUD ?

who you calling master and who you calling slave you idiot we are muslims we are not masters and slave of each other. you have stupid mentality infact you are fitnabaz . pakistan is a muslim country and we are muslims we do not want more countries within muslim country we need unity among muslims . those haramis who want freedom for stupid same system what they may call democracy is against islam.sooner or later inshallah there be sharia law in pakistan and inshallah after frdeeom of kashmir from india there be sharia law too. we fight for islam you fight for democracy or maybe communism . our dead are shaheed your dead will burn. may allah guide us all.

Jihadi Mirza Jamal Arif sahib its good you want to SPREAD your ideas like I do BUT lets NOT feed Pak and Indian Army fat cats. Just LIKE YOU Balouch and KASHMIRI people have a RIGHT to be free from Punjabi dictation. EVERY group of people HAVE a right of be FREE from “Majority” control. No matter what I say or You Say or Imran says or Zia said or did = THE kids of Balouch and Kashmir WILL decide who they LIKE and WHO thjey will THROW stones at and hate on FB !!!!

Arif Friaz jihadi please do not spread hate between muslims we are one ummah of rasool allah (sw) we must speak the truth and preach unity among all muslims . we do not need more countries with muslim country what is needed is sharia law which provides peace justice securityand unity for all muslim be we from blochetan punjab or kashmir. may allah unite us all. ameen.

Jihadi Mirza Jamal In My and our Pakistan Pak Army Generals are ABOVE law and live in clean free places while rest of pakistan gets no Investment but crap pluted minds who want taliban not mr. Jinnah type leaders. Open your eyes to ruin of pakistan.

Arif Friaz jihadi we have bad apples yes in every country there is good and there is bad those who are bad in pakistan i dont speak for them . what i am saying to you is do not blame islam for the acts of few.zia is gone more are going so will we. but ummah of rasool allah will remain for short term pleasure and fame for yourself do not divide muslims kabrun main jana hae allah se dar. as for afghan mujahideen are concerned not only i but world over know that afghans are mujahid people if you dont think so ask russians and ask american army. i am with all those who do jihad against invaders and those who strive and struggle for sharia law in the land. jihadi if you are muslim you should know what islam says about womens education and drugs and other matters. about lal masjid even if musharaf repents even then on day of judgement youg girls (shaeed) of lal masjid will grab musharaf for what he did and ask allah for justice. agarche buut hain jamat ki astinu main mujahe hae hukam e azan la ilaha illalah.let me ask you very simple question. are you for sharia law in kashmir ? yes or no.

Jihadi Mirza Jamal I do not want Zia or Taliban type Sharia. You want to ignore Zia’s ten long years and Pskistsn has Sharia laws already! Ofcourse we need Taliban type Sharia. No or yes? would your Amir allow TV ? Answer should be no otherwise your Sharia is different than Taliban. Girl education is loved by Kashmiri and Punjabis! Brother are you Pashtoon? Are your women educated? NOT ONLY I WANT RILIGION NOT BE USED BY AMIR OR PRESIDENT TO CONTROL PEOPLE BUT I ALSO WANT MY FAMILY TO VOTE IN THEIR LIVES. PAKISTAN already have enough Sharia. I am also a pakistani who fully supports Full education of all women and girls. Women have done a lot in freedom struggle of Kashmir can a woman stand for local elrctions?
Is there a place for me and my ideas or Amir will jail me? I can not be shutup will FB shut down? would you take a job in Sharia government or you will keep your distance and remain a bit independent of office?

Jihadi Mirza Jamal Mr. Jinnah is my role model not moulana muddudi. If Saudi royal family is acceptable then USA should be your country’s big friend too. Come on all Muslims know saudi are slaves to usa.

Mamma mia! Bikinis out, grandma’s bathers in

Date

August 15, 2012 – 4:54PM

Back to the 50s … the one-piece is back for Miss Italia contestants. Photo: Getty Images

It is one of the country’s most celebrated institutions and has often been at the centre of controversy, but now the Miss Italia beauty contest is raising eyebrows again by banning bikinis in favour of modest attire.

Only black and white one-piece bathing suits will be allowed in the swimwear section of next month’s contest in an attempt to recreate the more restrained style of the post-war era. Tattoos and body piercings will also be banned, as will any contestants who have had cosmetic surgery.

Can you imagine these little darlings dressed in clothes their grandmothers would have worn?

Patrizia Mirigliani, the pageant organiser, said she wanted to return the style of the competition to the “classical beauty of the 1950s” and that banning bikinis would “add a sober element”. She added: “The competition has always been a showcase for feminine beauty and as a result this year more than ever it was decided there would be no bikini section.”

Miss Italia is a national institution, with heats held throughout the country in the run-up to the main pageant, which is broadcast live over two nights in early September, with each show lasting three hours. A total of 230 women will take part, before being whittled down for the final in the Tuscan spa town of Montecatini Terme.

Each year there is a special guest, with the actors Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and Andy Garcia being among the past members of the jury panel. Before this year’s show, contestants will meet Mahatma Gandhi’s granddaughter, which will help them to learn about the “concept of interior, as well as exterior” beauty, Miss Mirigliani said.

Not everyone is happy with the contest’s new rules. Il Giornale, a newspaper owned by the family of the former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, said the new regulations were inspired by the austerity campaign of the current Italian prime minister Mario Monti.

“Can you imagine these little darlings dressed in clothes their grandmothers would have worn?” its report on the changes said.

“Surely the point of Miss Italia is that it is a beauty contest. The idea being to pick a beautiful Italian with the best legs, the sexiest curves and the perfect figure. If we are to cover the bottom, the object of male dreams, with centimetres of cloth what sense does the competition have?”

Fabrizo Frizzi, the host of the show, said: “Patrizia made her decision after some hints from minister [Elsa] Fornero over the standards that RAI [the broadcaster] have to keep. But this is a beauty contest and the physical figure of the contestants has to be uppermost. I think it is an elegant solution.”

Other experts, such as the founder of buyer’s agent Metropole Property Strategists, Michael Yardney, say as long as investors do their homework and buy the right property, capital gains will come down the track and buying on a yield of less than 5 per cent is acceptable.

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Yardney, an author of books on property investing, says the aim should be to buy below the intrinsic value of the property in areas known to give above-average capital growth, which has scarcity and to which value can be added.

OLDER APARTMENTS

Yardney generally favours apartments over houses and older apartments over new apartments.

Older apartments can be bought more cheaply because buyers are not paying a developer’s margin. There are also opportunities to improve them, he says.

Investors should ride the trend towards apartment living as more people ”swap their backyards for balconies”, Yardney says. There are more one- and two-person households, and more time-poor people who do not want a house on a big block, he says.

He favours older apartments on good public transport links that are not that far from the central business district.

Investors should also buy in areas where there is a preponderance of owner-occupiers rather than renters.

That’s because owner-occupiers are more likely to buy with their hearts rather than their calculators, he says.

FOCUS ON YIELD

Sydney has the better prospects for investors. Rents for properties in the middle and lower price brackets in Sydney are rising at just less than 8 per cent a year because of an under-supply of properties in the city.

In Melbourne, by contrast, rents are mostly stagnant and will likely take years before the city has digested the huge supply of inner-city apartments and new houses in Melbourne’s outer suburbs. Property prices in Melbourne have fallen about 10 per cent since their peak in 2010, after a very big run-up in the preceding years.

But prices in Melbourne do appear to be stabilising.

Though house prices are also treading water in Sydney, investors are being compensated for that with rising rents, says the managing director of specialist property researcher SQM Research, Louis Christopher.

”The numbers for investors in Sydney are starting to make sense, with a gross rental yield of 5.5 per cent for an inner-city property,” he says.

It is dangerous to generalise about Australia’s two largest property markets.

While rents in the lower and middle-price markets in Sydney are rising, rents are stagnant or falling for more expensive properties in Sydney. Christopher says the ”sweet spot” for investors is the cheaper end of the Sydney market.

”Yields are a lot lower for luxury properties, where the gross yield gets down to 1 and 2 per cent,” he says. ”The higher the price, the higher the land tax and the transactions costs, such as stamp duty.”

Yardney says that with higher-priced properties, not only is the yield generally lower than for cheaper property but the pool of potential renters is also smaller.

Christopher says investors should look at the outer-ring suburbs of Sydney where rents are rising fastest, and particularly suburbs well serviced by railway lines, such as Liverpool and Penrith.

In Lee’s opinion, the best buying is among units selling for about $200,000, which will typically have two bedrooms in a red-brick, two- or three-storey walk-up with no lifts. They usually need repainting and re-carpeting and have strata levies of about $400 a quarter, compared with much higher strata levies for newer apartments with gyms and swimming pools that need to be maintained.

Lee says that with a purchase price of about $200,000, a 10 per cent deposit and an expected rent of about $280 a week, the gross rental yield works out at just more than 7 per cent.

That more than covers the interest rate on the most competitive mortgage rates, which on variable-rate loans are a little more than 5.5 per cent.

Often, even when the costs of holding property are included, the investment can work out as cash flow-neutral.

Lee does not like negative gearing, in which the rent does not cover the interest costs and other expenses, and the investor claims the shortfall as a tax deduction. He says it means rent is not high enough and the landlord is supporting the tenant’s lifestyle.

Yardney says that with the costs involved with property, it is difficult for investors to be cash-flow positive, which is why investors need decent capital gains in the long term to come out ahead.

He prefers Sydney’s inner west to the outer suburbs. ”Proximity to public transport and the CBD is always going to be important,” he says.

He says the ”best bang for the

buck at the moment” are apartments that are priced between $400,000 and $500,000.

That amount will buy some really good two-bedroom apartments.

His preferred picks include apartments in the inner-western suburbs of Marrickville, Dulwich Hill and Ashfield.

MELBOURNE

Melbourne’s oversupply of vacant properties in the outer suburbs and a large number of new, off-the-plan apartments in the inner Melbourne CBD mean investors have to tread carefully, Yardney says. ”Oversupply will likely overhang the market in Melbourne for years,” he says.

Although Melbourne’s picture is poor, he says demand is strong in the inner south-east and inner east. ”We are not buying the market, we are buying individual properties,” Yardney says. ”The good news is that you can buy well [in Melbourne] at below market value.”

For investors with less than $400,000 to invest, he favours one- and two-bedroom apartments in St Kilda, Carnegie, Caulfield and Glen Huntly.

The managing director of buyer’s agent Buyer Solutions in Melbourne, Janet Spencer, has been buying on behalf of investors in areas of Melbourne where there is good demand. ”Although the market is patchy, there are pockets that are performing quite well,” she says.

Buying well is all about doing the research first.

”You have to do your due diligence before you buy,” Spencer says. ”Look at the vacancy rates in the area and buy the right property that is going to have some appeal.

”We have been buying well in Melbourne, picking up apartments whose prices are down 10 to 12 per cent from 2009 and 2010.”

Spencer’s top picks for investors include apartments for less than $500,000 in St Kilda and Carlton, near the University of Melbourne.

”There is a perception that it is always strongly priced there [in Carlton], but there have been good buying opportunities in the past 12 months, particularly with apartments,” she says.

A future carved out in bricks and mortar

Soon after their arrival from Russia a few years ago, Maria Andreeva and husband Yuri Nosach started buying investment properties to help secure their financial future.

The couple, who will soon be a family of three, has four investment properties in Sydney where they live.

Initially, the couple lived in Tasmania and, while still there, bought a two-bedroom apartment in Bondi, plus a one-bedroom apartment in Bronte.

Maria says they always wanted to invest in Sydney because of its strong employment and population growth. But the couple needed help and used a buyers’ agent with a good knowledge of the Sydney market.

Maria and Yuri have been advised in their property acquisitions and investment strategy by Michael Yardney of buyers’ agent Metropole Property Strategists.

Maria, 35, is an accountant with a book-keeping and tax business and Yuri, 56, is a social worker.

Maria considered buying off-the-plan apartments but was worried there may be too many similar apartments arriving on the rental market seeking tenants at the same time. She opted for older apartments instead.

The couple moved to Sydney 18 months ago and live in a rented apartment. Not having a mortgage on a residential property allows them to afford a larger portfolio of investment properties.

Good capital growth in the original two properties allowed them to borrow more to purchase a further two investment properties earlier this year – a two-bedroom apartment in Marrickville and a house in St Peters.

Maria and Yuri’s strategy is simple – as rents rise and the mortgage is paid down they will, eventually, be able to live off the rental income.

Stabilisation in sight rather than a boom

There are some tentative signs that house prices in Sydney and Melbourne have stabilised as the four cuts in interest rates by the Reserve Bank since November work their way through the economy.

RP Data-Rismark’s capital city home price index rose 0.6 per cent in July, following a 1 per cent rise in June after months of flat prices. Prices in Sydney rose 1.2 per cent, and 1.4 per cent in Melbourne, in July. Prices in the other major capitals fell. Confidence of home buyers and investors, however, is still being sapped by the gloomy outlook on the global economy.

Auction clearance rates are still hovering between 60 per cent to 70 per cent in Sydney and Melbourne, compared with the peak of the market in 2010 when clearance rates were more than 80 per cent.

Louis Christopher says the prospects for capital gains are better for Sydney than for Melbourne. Supply is still strong in Melbourne and that is going to continue to put a dampener on prices there for at least two years, he says.

The Australian economy continues to do relatively well, with good growth and low unemployment, Michael Yardney says. ”What is missing is confidence, and people are holding off making big decisions,” he says. However, the property price data shows ”we are on the cusp of the stabilisation stage.” But he is not expecting prices to boom because, as the market improves, sellers who have withdrawn their properties from sale will put them back on the market.

Mandela heir banishes wife for affair

“[My wife] has been having an affair with one of my brothers” … Mandla Mandela. Photo: AFP

CAPE TOWN: Nelson Mandela’s grandson and political heir has banished his wife from their home after he discovered she had given birth to his brother’s baby.

Mandla Mandela, 38, was accused of bigamy when he married the teenage Anais Grimaud while still married to his first wife.

Now, following weeks of media speculation that their marriage had ended amid blazing rows, Mr Mandela has confirmed his wife had an affair with his brother.

”The Mandela family has sent my wife Nkosikazi Nobubele Mandela [nee Anais Grimaud] back to her home after it was discovered she has been having an affair with one of my brothers,” he said. ”I confirm this affair resulted in a son that Nkosikazi Nobubele gave birth to in 2011.”

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The scandal is the latest in a series of controversies involving Mr Mandela, whom Nelson Mandela anointed as his political heir. As well as being a South African MP, he is a chief in the Thembu tribe and handles much of his grandfather’s legacy.

As the grandson of the universally revered 94-year-old, he is also the public face of the family.

He married his first wife, Tanda Mabunu-Mandela, at a traditional ceremony in 2004. Six years later, he married Ms Grimaud, who is from the island of Reunion, a French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. She took the tribal name Nkosikazi Nobubele Mandela.

The couple’s son was born in September last year and was named Qheya by Nelson Mandela.

But the marriage was marred by the fact that Mandla Mandela remained officially married to his first wife. Ms Mabunu-Mandela fought the Grimaud marriage in the courts and it was declared unlawful last year.

In a statement released this week, Mandla Mandela said DNA tests confirmed the boy was not his son, but he did not identify which of his two brothers was the father.

”The revelation of this affair has come as a shock to me and the rest of my family,” the statement read. ”It has been made more painful because it is my own brother who is at the centre of the crisis.”

Taking a break is secret to success

At least it doesn’t when you practise over and over again without a break.

Sydney scientists have found learning improves when students take a rest from continuous study or training.

”It seems intuitive that every minute of study should make you better, but, actually, if you do too much it might backfire and you end up wasting time,” said the study’s lead researcher, Joel Pearson.

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To measure this effect, Dr Pearson, a cognitive neuroscientist at the University of NSW, had 31 students complete a computer screen test where they had to pick the direction of hundreds of moving dots.

”It looks a bit like a snow storm so it can be hard to see what direction they’re moving at first, but it is a skill that can be learnt,” he said.

On the first day of the experiment, one group of participants watched the moving dots for two hours without a break, while another group had one hour of down time between their study sessions.

When both groups repeated the task for an hour the next day, the researchers found the students who took time out between training improved, while the performance of the non-break participants remained the same.

”If you keep on learning for multiple hours in a row without a break you don’t get the [learning] benefit any more,” said Dr Pearson.

When learning something new the brain must convert a short-term memory into a long term memory for the skill to persist.

While scientists have known this process of memory consolidation occurs during sleep, Dr Pearson and his colleagues are the first to show it can also happen when awake.

Many scientists believe the brain consolidates a new skill by making new connections between neurons, a re-wiring process known as neural plasticity.

Continued practice appeared to disrupt this consolidation process, he said.

While the study reviewed a particular type of learning known as perceptual learning, which occurred when reading or learning to interpret an X-ray, the same processes arose when a person learnt to ride a bike or tried to grasp a new concept, said Dr Pearson, whose findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

ELECTRICITY DREAMS and FUTURE PROMISES of ANY “new” MILITARY or PPP etc Government :::

No bank can help Pakistan. Again banks will not touch electricity REVENUE forecasts. Banks will make loss on Pak Electricity prices as ALREADY HUB and nearly all Private Producers of electricity are RUINED by slow and non payments and stealing and GOVERNMENT military and PPP can NEVER force Private Banks to throw depositor money.

PLUS foreign DAM BUILDERS need FOREIGN CASH not rupee dramas. Yes China invests in MOBILE PHONES a lot BECAUSE bills get PAID or its DISCONNECTION. Military NEVER teach Pakistanis YOU MUST ALL pay ALL expensive bills or DISCONNECTION !! Everything is EXPENSIVE, Schools, Medicine etc etc. ONLY MAKING BABIES is CHEAP and RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS are FREE. So stay home and just pray and yes phone calls are cheap. Like a Pakistani woman just be happy – PAKISTANIS were TAUGHT by MILITARY just like RENT CONTROL we can have ELECTRICITY PRICE control and ALLAH will provide education and Taliban ? WRONG MULLAH and EDUCATION given by MILITARY control of NEWSPAPERS and teaching TALIBAN DREAM REALITY to Pakistanis. FRAUD in ELECTRICITY means NO ELECTRICITY. Mullah and Civilian Government can not CREATE CASH. Its a ZERO SUM GAME electricity. Dams and PLANTS are not YOUR BIRTH RIGHT. They cost BANK CASH or TAXPAYER MONEY and TECHNOLOGY. As I say prayers would not HELP. LEARN to PAY MARKET PRICE of loans to build Dams and poles and COPPER WIRES etc etc. MILITARY did NOT TELL PAKISTANIS its RELIGIOUS DUTY DUTY DUTY to pay GAS and ELECTRICITY BILLS in FULL and THEN ZAKAT. Nothing Free Only Mullah and Zia’s hour long PUBLIC ADDRESS on TV for ten years were FREE. You are paying the Price NOW. Musharaaf never told YOU the TRUTH I have written above. Or maybe Military is STUPID ? Yes Musharaaf again WASTED your ten years and SAME electricity non-payments and RELIGIOUS DREAMS of PAKISTAN Pakistan GREAT ? Without electricity ? = Taliban’s hope of great Pakistan.

LHC orders production of Davis’s victim’s in-laws

LAHORE: Justice Ali Baqar Najfi of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered police to produce Shahzad Butt, father-in-law of Faizan Haider, who was killed by American citizen Raymond Davis, and others until August 13. The judge issued the directions on a petition of Imran Haider, brother of Faizan Haider, for recovery of his nephew, Muhammad Ahmad, from Shahzad Butt and others. Earlier, the court while issuing notice summoned respondents Shahzad and others for Friday. The police informed that the respondents were not residing at the mailing address given in the petition. The petitioner’s counsel submitted that after receiving blood money, his deceased brother’s wife, Zohra, shifted to her parents’ house along with her son Ahmad. He alleged that Zohra’s father Shahzad Butt was a greedy person and he killed Zohra and her mother to take custody of minor and the blood money. He also alleged that Shahzad Butt, his son Haider Ali, and Seemab Batool were hiding the boy since the death of his mother. He requested that directions be issued to police for the recovery of minor and his custody be given to the petitioner.